Machinist Thierry becomes unemployed at over 50. Employment offices, retraining, job interviews – money becomes tight, and family life suffers. A job as a department store detective, far below his qualifications, initially offers hope but ultimately plunges him into an even greater moral dilemma. As a victim of the “law of the market,” is he willing to perpetuate it and become a perpetrator himself?
In his unparalleled feature film trilogy (The Value of Humanity, Strike, Another World), Stéphane Brizé examines modern work practices from different perspectives – featuring French film star Vincent Lindon, who convincingly plays shifting roles as a job seeker, union leader, and corporate executive. “The overarching message, however, always remains the same: no one feels comfortable in post-industrial capitalism.” (Astrid Hampe-Nathaniel) In the first part shown here, Thierry becomes the face of the unemployment statistics we hear about daily in the news, whose human tragedies are usually hidden from us. For his portrayal of Thierry, Vincent Lindon was awarded Best Actor at Cannes. (JM)

Introduction by Astrid Hampe-Nathaniel